Insulator-support.



C. E. MILLER.

INSULATOR SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1914.

-' Patented June 22; 1915.

WITNESSES:

7% mw w I A TTORXEYS cHAa-nns n. MILLER, or rI'rrsnuiscn, PENNSYLVANIA.

' nsuLAtrou-surrom,

Specification Letters Patent. Patented June 22, 1915- Application filed May 4,1914. 'Se'rial No. 836,092.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES E. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in-Insulator-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to insulator supports and involves improved supporting structure at the support end for receiving theinsulator.

My invention concerns particularly that class of insulator supports in which a thimble in the form of a coil or helix of wire is used for the threaded seat of an insulator, and my invention concerns improved structure at the end of the support for receiving and cooperating with the thimble, particularly where the support is of solid metal.

I In prior structures involving the mounting of a wire thimble on a support such as a solid metal pin, the arrangement is such that the insulator is subjected to considerable strain whenhpplied to the thimble for the reason that no "provision is made to allow any spiral yield or movement of the thimble during application of theinsulator or removal-thereof. The turns of the wire thimble can perhaps spread apart or flatten or. otherwise distort and this would allow some yield, but it is the inability to yield spirally that has caused such strain on and breakage of insulators. 7 Insulatorsmay hold for a while after being screwed in place but the strains and stresses caused therein during application will cause the insulator to breakfrom slight blows or external strains-when wire is applied thereto or when subjected.

to expansion and contraction during Weather changes. Outside of such severe strains caused in the insulator, another drawback has been the inability to readily unscrew the insulator, the absence of spiral yield beingalso responsible for this.

The:- general purpose of my: invention is thereforeto overcome all' these defects in prior structures, the main object being to 1 provide construction andarrangement which will permit substantial spiral yield and movement of the turns of the wire thimble both when the insulator is screwed thereto or unscrewed therefrom, such yielding limiting localized and concentrated strains on the lIlSlllfi-(JOIfiIlCl preventing breakage thereof while at the same time provision is made; to allow the turns of the thimble to exert sufiiclentand uniform pressure against the insulator to lock it in its service position.

the top is put to considerable strain which will result in breakage later on.

Another object 'of the invention is therefore to protect the insulator against such breakage by utilizing one or more turnsof the wire thimble as a yielding abutment for i the insulator top.

Generally speaking, the invention comprises a support such as a metal pin threaded with a long pitch a' distance downwardly from its end and provided below the threaded section with a belt of longitudinally extending ratchet teeth, the wire thimble having its intermediate coils only arranged for receiving-"the insulator and having its upper and lower turns of smaller diameter and of a pitch to engage with the threads of thesupport, the upper end of the wire being shaped to form an abutment to limit the bodily downward movement ofthe thimble, and the lower-end of the wire having a projection for engaging with the ratchet teeth to allow spiral movement of the lower turns on the threaded section when the insulator is screwed in place but to prevent spiral movement of such turns when the insulator is unscrewed.

.The details, of the construction andgar-z rangement andthe purposes and functions thereof will be-clearly understood by refer-.

ence to the accompanying. drawings in Figure -l is an elevationalvlew .ofthe up perpart of' a supporting pin showing the thimble applied thereto ready to receive aninsulator, Fig. 2 is a front elevational view ofthe entire supporting pin showing the position. of the thimble after the insulator hascbeen-fully applied thereto, Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the upper part of the pin showing the thimble in vertical diam'- etral section and in the position when-an insulator has been applied thereto, Fig. 4 is a top view of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a sectional therein and this thread is of comparatively applied to a steel view on plane 5-5, Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the support end 14 being: usually interposed. The upper end ofthe body part 10 is cylindrical and in accordance with my invention the upper end 15 thereof has a thread preferably rolled large pitch. Below the thread section 1 form a belt of longitudinally extending ratchet teeth 16 and notches 17 preferably rolled therein at the same time that the.

threading is formed. The insulatorreceiving thimble T is in the form of a coil of wire of suitable gage, the intermediate turns- 18 being of diameters .to receive insulators such as I, while the upper turns 19 andthe lower turns 20 are of smaller diameter and of" a pitch corresponding to that, of the thread 15, the thread groove 15' being preferably of such an are as to intimately receive the turns 19 and '20. The upper end t of the wire is. deflected radially to form an abutment for limiting the downward bodily. movement of the thimble, and the lower end of the wire is provided with a radially inwardly extending ratchet projection or tooth t for cooperating with the ratchet teeth 16 and notches 17. This tooth can readily be deflected from the wire by punching the notch 01. at the outside of the wire in the manner well understood.

The purposes and results of the improved construction and arrangement'are apparent.

.The thimble is formed vup separately and then screwed lightly on to the pin until the tooth t reaches the ratchet section of .the pin. The insulator is then applled and as the intermediate turns 18 of the thimble increase slightly indiameter downwardly 1n accordance with the taper of the insulator interior, the insulator when screwed down w1ll exert friction on the turns and if such frictional engagement is resisted by the turns the thimble will be rotated around the pin, the tooth t clicking over the ratchet teeth and engaging in successivenotches 17. Afterthe insulator and thimble have thus, been turned' a distance, the end I? will abut firmly against the pin end and will lock the upper turns 19 against. further downward bodily movement. Then as the insulator isffurther forced down and its smallerdiameter threads engage with the larger diameter turns of the thimble this togetherwith the increasing friction will tend to contract the ing bodily downwardly during their contraction and spiral creeping until the insulator is in place. This spiral creeping or give and uniform yield of the turns will allow such application of the insulator with very little force compared to the force necessary in other structures of-this class. The recoil of the turns upon release of the insulator after thescrewing on operation will also beuniform against the insulator and will lock it firmly in place. The turns 18 also yield during construction work and during service of the insulator, for, example, the coils will yield while a wire is being tied to the insulator, and will yield to pull on the I wire during service, such yield,however,be- 'ing sufiicient only to prevent breakage of the insulator.

My improved arrangement has the decided advantage over prior structures in that it allows such ready and easy removal of the'insulator. After the insulator has been screwed into position the lower turns, by the engagement of the tooth t. with one of the ratchet teeth 16, will be locked against unscrewing and will not turnwhen the insulator is turned for the purpose of unscrewing it. However, the upper turns 19 of the insulator are free to unscrew and therefore as the insulator is unscrewed the turns 18 are free to contract and creep spirally, the Y creeping being taken up by the unscrewing of the upper turns 19. Owing to this freedom of the turns 18 on account of the I rotatable upper turns '19 the insulator can be removed with very little effort. After 'removal of the insulator the thimble .can

be readily removed by unscrewing the lower turns 20 by the application of a suitable tool such 'as a screw-driver to shift the tooth t across the ratchet teeth 16. After the thimble has been turned back to the position shown in Fig. 1 it is ready for receiving the same oranother insulator.

In order toprevent straining or breaking of the top '5 of the insulator should the insulator be screwed down too far, I utilize part of the thimble and the elasticity thereof to form a yielding cushion abutment for the pin when the insulator is screwed in place (see Fig. Then when the insulator the insulator top. As shown Fig. 2, the

is screwed down as shown in Fig. 2, its top z will encounter-the end t and the pressure of the top against this end will, be taken up bypart of the upper turns and owing to the resiliency of'these turns there will be yield to the pressure and breakage of the insulator .top will be prevented. The end t is prefernated, the resistance and pressure being use formly distributed, and the supporting thimble turns being free to take care of all expansion and contraction of the insulator both radially, longitudinally and spirally. All this together with the cushion abutment provided for the insulator-top will greatly reduce breakage and will increase the life of the insulator. Although the insulator can be readily and easily screwed on or unscrewed it will be firmly held against selfdisplacement during service, and sudden jars, blows, or pulls on the insulator during construction work or during service will be taken .up by the yielding support and the insulator will be saved. r

I do not, of course, desire to be limited to the precise construction and arrangement shown and described as changes are no doubt possible which would still come within the scope of the invention.

I claim as follows:

1. An insulator support comprising a body having a threaded section. and a thimble inthe form of a wire coil having some of its turns of a diameter and pitch to de tacha'bly fit the threaded section and having other turns spaced away from the threaded section for receiving an insulator.

2. An insulator support comprising a body part having a threaded section, and a thimble in the form of a wire coil having turns at its upper and lower ends of a diameter and pitch to detachably fit the threaded section, the intermediate turns being spaced away from the threaded section to receive an insulator. v v

3. An insulator support comprising a body part having a belt of ratchet teeth a distance below its upper end, and a thimble in the form of a wire spiral, the lower end of said wire being toothed to cotipera'te with said ratchet teeth to prevent rotation of the thimble in one direction.

4. An insulator support comprising a body part having aabelt of ratchet teeth a distance downwardly from its upper end,

and a thimble in the form of a wire spiral,

' and threaded to also the lower'turns being contracted to closely fitthe body part and being toothed to cooperate with the ratchet teeth to lock the thimble against rotation in one direction, the upper, end of the spiral being contracted to form an abutment to limit the downward movement of the thimble on the body part.

5. An insulator pin comprising a body part having its upper end threaded, an insulator receiving thimble adapted at its lower end for detachable engagement with said threaded end whereby saidthimble may be screwed on to the body part, means at the 'upper end of the thimble for limiting the downward travel of the thimble, and cooperating means at the lower end of the thimble and on the body part for locking the thimble against removal after application an insulator receiving thimble having an intermediate part adapted for coiiperation with an insulator. a belt of. ratchet notches below the threaded section on the body part, the lower end of said thimble being contracted and threaded to detachably engage the threaded section and having a projection for cooperating with the ratchet notches to lock the thimble against removal after application thereof to the body part.-

7. An insulator support comprising a body part having its end section threaded, an insulator receiving thimble having an intermediate part adapted for coiiperation with an insulator, a belt ofratchet notches below the threaded section on the body part,

.the lower end of said thimble being conbody part having its end section threaded,

an insulator receiving thimble having an intermediate partadapted for cooperation with an insulator, a belt of ratchet notches below the threaded section on the body part, the lower end of said thimble being con-- tracted and threaded, to detachably engage the threaded section and having a projection for cotiperating with the ratchet notches to lock the thimble against removal after ap-- plication thereofto the body' part, the upper part of the thimble being contracted section. I

- 9. An insulator supportcomprising a cylindrical stem having its upper section threaded and having a belt, of ratchet engage the threadednotches below said threaded section, a

thimble in the form of a wire helix, the

intermediate section of said helix being of v a diameter and pitch to receive an insulator and the upper and lower ends being contracted and of a pitch to fit the threaded section, the lower end of the helix having a tooth for cooperating with the ratchet notches to allowv screwing on of the thimble but to prevent unscrewing thereof from the pin, the upper end of the helix wire being deflected radially to abut against the top of the pin to limit the downward travel of the helix thereon. I

10. In an insulator support, the combination of a stem having its upper end section threaded and having a belt of ratchet teeth below said threaded section, a thimble in the form of a wire helix, the intermediate turns of said helix being of a diameter and pitch to threadedly receive an insulator, the lower turns of'the helix being contracted and of a pitch to ,fit the threaded section and having screwing from the stem, the upper end of the helix being contracted to form an abut ment for engaging the top ofthe stem when the lower turn reaches the ratchet belt whereby when an insulator is screwed on to the intermediate section the helix will be f prevented from bodily downward travel but will be allowed to contract and shift spirally on account of the.ability of .the lower turn to rotate, the engagement of the toothed lower turns with the ratchet teeth then locking the lower end of the helix to allow contraction and spiral movement of the inter- 1 medlate turns when the insulator is unof a diameter and pitch to threadedly engage the threaded section, the intermediate turns being of larger diameter and pitch to receive an insulator, a projection at the lower end of the helix for cooperating with the ratchet teeth to allow screwing on of the thimble but to prevent unscrewing thereof, the upper end of the helix wire being contracted and bent to abut against the pin top to prevent bodily downward movement of thethimble after the lower end thereof comes into cooperation with the ratchet teeth.

12. An insulator support comprising a stemhaving its end section threaded, a thimble in the form of a helix having its lower end contracted and of a pitchto fit the threaded section and, having the threaded section above such lower section of larger diameter and of a pitch toreceive an insulator, and means adapted upon unscrewing movement of the insulator to prevent unscrewing movement of said lower section but to permit the upper section to move spirally in order to contract to allow ready removal of the insulator.

13. An insulator support comprising a stem having a section below its upper end threaded, a thimble in the form of a wire helix having its lower end contracted and of a pitch to fit the threaded section and having the section above such lower end of my name this 27th day of April, A. 'D., 85 1914. v I

CHARLES E. MILLER.v

Witnesses:

CHARLES J. SCHMIDT,

' S. B. CARR. 

